World Sports News in Brief

Messi could play against Inter, says Valverde

Barcelona's Lionel Messi and team mates during training on November 5. (Reuters)

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Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said captain Lionel Messi could feature against Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday, little more than two weeks after breaking his arm. Messi was a surprise inclusion in the squad list as he was expected to be out of action for three weeks after breaking a bone in his right arm on Oct. 20.

* Former Australia captain Mark Taylor resigned from Cricket Australia's (CA) board of directors on Monday in the wake of a scathing review into the governing body's culture and governance.

* Mixed martial arts star Angela Lee has been deemed "unfit" to compete against China's Xiong Jing Nan in Friday's (Nov 9) ONE Championship bout after sustaining a back injury.

* Pep Guardiola said managing in England is a "dream come true" as he was honoured by the Football Writers' Association fresh from a 6-1 Premier League victory against Southampton.

* Monaco have denied claims that they tried to bypass UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules by agreeing to enter a partnership to generate revenues from an offshore firm registered in Hong Kong.

* An own goal by Timothy Fosu-Mensah gave Huddersfield Town their first Premier League win of the season as they beat fellow strugglers Fulham 1-0 to climb off the bottom of the table.

* The US Olympic Committee launched proceedings to strip USA Gymnastics of its status as the sport's national governing body in the wake of the organisation's sexual abuse scandal.

* Liverpool have left Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri out of the squad for Tuesday’s Champions League tie at Red Star Belgrade, saying they were uncertain over what sort of reception he would receive in the Serbian capital. Shaqiri scored the winning goal for Switzerland when they beat Serbia 2-1 at the World Cup in June and celebrated with a gesture which appeared to imitate the eagle displayed on Albania’s flag.

* Stoke City winger James McClean has been warned by the English Football Association for using offensive language in a social media post over his decision not to wear a Remembrance Day poppy on his shirt.

* Serie A club Empoli dampened coach Aurelio Andreazzoli’s 65th birthday celebrations on Monday by sacking him after a poor run of results. He was dismissed despite leading Empoli back into the top flight last season when they won the Serie B title by 13 points.

* Paris St Germain have appealed to sport’s highest tribunal after European football’s governing body re-opened an investigation into whether the French club had broken rules designed to prevent over-spending.